Final Four: Is Louisville worse without Ware?

The guard who broke his leg in grisly fashion last weekend, during Louisville's regional final victory over Duke, is here in his hometown for the Final Four.

The Cardinals were already thin in the backcourt and now will call upon freshman Tim Henderson, a walk-on, to play in Ware's third-guard spot against Wichita State tonight.

"He guards Russ Smith in practice," said point guard Peyton Siva, referring to the explosive shooting guard who is averaging 26 points in this NCAA tournament. "If you can do that, you can pretty much guard everybody."

The Cardinals, 33-5, were already top-seeded in the tournament and have won their tournament games by 31, 26, eight and 22 points.

Ware made the trip to Atlanta but, after several functions on Thursday, was allowed to spend Friday resting with his family. "He was falling asleep at dinner last night," said teammate Chane Behanan.

Louisville is fueled by game-long pressure defense and the Siva-Smith backcourt. Rick Pitino's club is second nationally in turnover margin and 16th in scoring defense although, contrary to image, the Cardinals are only 217th in 3-point percentage.

Wichita State (30-8) was ninth-seeded in the West Regional but ousted Gonzaga in the third round with 14 three-pointers, then ground down Ohio State with defense and rebounding.

The Shockers also won a November game at VCU, a team that presses as frantically as Louisville. They made only 13 turnovers that night.

"But Louisville has more high-caliber athletes than VCU does," said point guard Malcolm Armstead. "The key for us is not to get into the coffin corner where they can trap us, not to let them to turn us. You have to be composed, and then eliminate what we call those 'atomic bombs' that fuel their transition game.

"Pressure busts pipes. But it also builds diamonds, and I think we're just enjoying this opportunity."

Louisville's fans might be looking ahead to the final, but Pitino isn't.

"Wichita State is Marquette on steroids," he said, referring to a Big East rival with similar defensive growl.

"We're not on steroids, but other than that it's a great compliment," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said.

Armstead isn't likely to be fazed. He played at Oregon, but transferred when Coach Ernie Kent was fired. His Chipola (Fla.) JC coach, Greg Heiar, was a Wichita State assistant, so Armstead transferred, sat out last year, and paid his own way.

To do that he had to work at a Wichita car dealership.

"Driving the cars from dealer to dealer, watering the plants, detailing the cars," he said. "It wasn't bad, but I'd rather play basketball for money. I'm still in debt, so I'm hoping to get this resolved at the end of the year."

Center Carl Hall also knows the workaday world. He served on the graveyard shift at Lithonia (Ga.) Lighting Co., for $12 an hour.

"It's a dirty, nasty job," he said. "I wouldn't recommend that. I don't think my teammates could do it anyway. I tell them to stay in school."